Spotify goes streaming only in the UK

The popular music streaming service Spotify may not be know for its ability to purchase and download new music, yet today it is time to scratch that off the feature list, as the company quietly disabled the ability to make purchases through the desktop application.

When a user attempts to make a purchase they are greeted with the following message: “We’re currently not offering new download purchases on Spotify. You can still use downloads you’ve already purchased.”

The FAQ page users are directed to explains that users can redeem downloads they haven’t used, re-download tracks they have bought and redeem Spotify gift cards, but gives no further explanation as to the reason behind the changes, and whether they will be permanent.

Spotify has responded to complaints regarding the changes by stating; “We recently updated Spotify to further simplify the service and pave the way for new features announced at the end of last year. In-app purchases aren’t part of this update but we’re not ruling out their return. Credits/gift cards already purchased are still redeemable.”

Spotify in the United States was already streaming-only, so American users will likely notice no change, so whether this is a move to offer feature parity across regions, or part of a wider move to simplify the service remains to be seen.